500 episodes
Fast halachah with practical Jewish stakes.
Fast, dense, and plainspoken, the show works through Jewish law and Torah thought with a teacher’s constant back-and-forth. Daf passages, Pesach prep, Purim fasting, and Seder questions are treated as real-life obligations, not abstract material.
Rabbi Michoel Frank - Halachah and Parshah is a large, shiur-centered feed with a strong practical spine. It does not move slowly. The show often begins with a specific halachic or textual problem and keeps pressing until the difference between two similar cases starts to matter. Daf HaShavua episodes are especially dense, following Nedarim through arguments about hafarah, hakamah, zika, tumah, mikvah, keilim, and whether an action can work before the condition it addresses has arrived. The language assumes a listener comfortable hearing English and Torah terminology in the same breath. That gives the learning a lived-in texture. It sounds less like polished classroom audio and more like a real shiur trying to keep the thread moving before anyone loses the sugya. The holiday material is more accessible, but it keeps the same habits of thought. Pesach cleaning is not treated as a vague seasonal anxiety; it becomes kazayis, bal yera'eh, bal yimatzei, irui, hagalah, libun, sinks, faucets, steamers, haircuts, nails, laundry, candle lighting, wine, grape juice, and the actual amount needed for each cup. The show likes practical clarity. It also refuses to leave practice flat. A discussion of bedikas chametz can become a larger argument about destroying chametz, resisting the yetzer hara, serving Hashem because He wants it, and teaching children from a place of relationship. Parshah and Haggadah episodes work the same way. Makkas Dam becomes a grave moral lesson about bloodshed, hidden crimes, false security, and misplaced worship. Mah Nishtanah becomes a lesson in how questions function, how children learn, and why the answer has to feel important if the question is asked simply. Taanis Esther becomes a way to think about fasting, tefillah, Purim, and the memory of redemption. The overall result is fast, insistent, and deeply practical. It is best for listeners who already enjoy shiurim and want halachah tied to daily Jewish life, Yom Tov preparation, and moral seriousness.
Made for: For listeners who want serious Jewish learning in a conversational shiur format, especially around Daf HaShavua, Pesach, Purim, parshah, and practical halachah. Best suited to an audience already comfortable with untranslated Torah vocabulary.
What sets it apart: The show moves from fine halachic distinctions to kitchen-table practice without changing gears. It treats ritual detail as both instruction and a route into Avodas Hashem, family education, and moral clarity.
Rabbi Michoel Frank shlit"a is the Rabbi of Ohr HaTorah in Silver Spring, MD. Rabbi Frank delivers a conference call shiur weekly on Thursday nights including 10 minutes of Halachah and 10 minutes of Parshah. Many other shiurim are posted here as well.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · August 2026
Practical Jewish learning where halachah, holiday preparation, and close textual questions become usable guidance for observant life.
Rabbi Michoel Frank - Halachah and Parshah is practical Jewish learning with a clear shiur shape: halachic analysis, seasonal Torah, and questions that start close to home.
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A brisk Shabbos Hagadol talk that turns chametz into duty, trust, and sudden redemption.
This Shabbos Hagadol talk begins with a halachic question: why the bracha for B'dikas Hametz says al bir Hametz, language about destroying chametz, even though the burning comes later on Erev Pesach.
A brisk, question-led shiur that broadens Mah Nishtanah into matzah, emunah, and serving Hashem.
This shiur centers on getting Mah Nishtanah right, with the larger point that in some Torah conversations the answer can carry more weight than the question.
A practical, precise guide to matching each kashering method to the way chametz reaches a household surface.
Pesach cleaning is given a steady, usable frame: the host looks first at how chametz reaches a surface, then pairs the cleanup with that path.
A fast with an uncertain origin opens into Purim's deeper story of prayer, reversal, and redemption.
Taanis Esther comes through here as a fast with a different kind of footing. The other fasts discussed are rooted in Pesukim and recorded in the Gemara, while Taanis Esther first appears in post-Gemara writing and is treated by the Rishonim as an established minhag.
A loose tooth leads into a concise, practical look at what counts as Binyan on Shabbos.
A loose fake tooth becomes a brisk, practical review of Binyan Ba'adam, as the host moves from a Shabbos mishap into braids, a medical opening, drawers, fridge compartments, a toilet tank, and bottle caps.
Daily halacha, case by case.
Parsha questions carried into serious Torah argument.
Rabbi Michoel Frank reviews Hilchos Shabbos laws on Binyan, focusing on practical applications.
Rabbi Michoel Frank analyzes Talmud Nedarim 76a-b, focusing on debates about retroactive purification of vessels and the time limits for annulling vows.
This episode continues a lecture on the first blessing of Shemonah Esrei according to the Grah's interpretation, focusing on how it encapsulates the entire prayer and the four specific praise terms used.
This episode analyzes a complex Talmudic discussion from Nedarim 76a-b about ritual purity laws, focusing on debates around whether objects can be made tahor (pure) in advance to prevent future tumah (impurity).
This episode analyzes a passage from Talmud tractate Nedarim 75a-b, focusing on Rabbi Akiva's legal reasoning about vows and marriage status in Jewish law.
The speaker opens with the Hashkafa portion of his Shabbos Hagadol drasha, "Hametz, Public Enemy Number One." He begins with the odd blessing over bedikas chametz, then uses that wording to move through halachic discussion, the Zayar's reading of chametz as the yetzer hara, and the Chassidus Shisvarim explanation for why the blessing sounds more like it belongs to destruction than to the search itself.
This episode explores the deeper spiritual lessons of the Makkas Dam (Plague of Blood) from Parshas Tzav, focusing on why the Nile River turned to blood as divine justice for Egyptian atrocities and idolatry.
Rabbi Michoel Frank covers practical Pesach halachos for Erev Pesach, the Seder, Yom Tov, Shabbos preparations, and Chol Hamoed.
The shiur opens by revisiting its own title.
The host begins with Parshas Vayikra and the halachos of Pesach.
Taanis Esther is presented as an unusual fast.
This shiur introduces the first bracha of Shemonah Esray according to the Gra's siddur, discussing two types of tefillah and the intense, heartfelt prayer exemplified by the Avis and Chal Yisrael.
This episode explores common parental thoughts and challenges, contrasting idealistic expectations with the reality of raising children.
The speaker shares a personal story about accidentally reinserting a loose fake tooth on Shabbos and explores the halachic implications of this action under the category of Boneh (building).